A return to Britain next summer is on Acapulco‘s agenda, but will she be able to repeat the exploits of her juvenile season?
Wesley Ward’s daughter of Scat Daddy has looked more like a four-year-old colt than a juvenile filly and she created a huge impression when blitzing the field in the Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot on only her second start.
On the back of that run, and also due to receiving almost two stones, she was sent off favourite for the Nunthorpe Stakes and she again made a bold bid to make all the running before being collared close home by Mecca’s Angel. The softening ground was clearly against Acapulco, particularly given her American pedigree.
She is unlikely to return to Britain this season, and may not run again as a two-year-old. But she is due back next year, with the King‘s Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot and a repeat bid for the Nunthorpe the targets.
The best live horse racing streams online will give you the opportunity to watch the flying filly when she is back in Britain again, but will she train on as a three-year-old to be as visually impressive as she has already been?
Her sire Scat Daddy won the Grade One Florida Derby as a three-year-old so, on that basis, there is no reason to think she wouldn’t progress again when she turns three.
However, the career of Lyric Fantasy is something which could give rise to concerns. Lyric Fantasy won the Nunthorpe Stakes as a two-year-old back in 1992 before finishing second in the Cheveley Park Stakes. She was sixth in the 1000 Guineas on her first start at three, although that was over a mile and can be overlooked. She then won a Listed race at Newmarket before finishing only seventh in the King’s Stand and then last behind Lochsong in the Nunthorpe on her only other two starts.
The major difference between Lyric Fantasy and Acapulco is the size. Lyric Fantasy was known as the ‘Pocket Rocket’ and probably didn’t have the same physical scope to improve as a three-year-old. For Acapulco, given how huge she is, there is much greater scope to think she will progress again on that basis.
In the two races which are her targets, three-year-olds have a solid record, with 11 winning the King’s Stand since 1980 and 13 winning the Nunthorpe. Last Tycoon, Dayjur and Pivotal are the only three-year-olds to win both races.
Joining such illustrious company would guarantee Acapulco is regarded as one of the best sprinters of the modern era. Providing she gets fast ground next summer, then Acapulco has the potential to complete a famous sprint double.
